Garden Of Poison

Migdre’s small legs carried it towards the entrance of the palace without the guards noticing its presence. For some reason, the imp couldn’t teleport to its master’s location and decided to swiftly search for him instead.

"Master is being tricked! Master needs to know!" muttered the imp to itself as it continued to dash through the corridors, its arrow-ended tail swaying back and forth. "Master, where are you?!" it asked frantically, its head scanning left and right. "That woman has been lying, and so has Demon Raylen! She’s t—"

And before the imp could take another step forward, a shoe suddenly flew from behind at a speed too swift for the creature to notice, and it smacked it right on the back of its head, causing it to collapse onto the ground, unconscious from the impact.

"Thought I heard someone call my name," Raylen remarked, standing at the far end of the corridor, one shoe conspicuously absent from his foot.

Making his way to where the imp had temporarily blacked out, Raylen used his foot to turn the creature’s body while simultaneously slipping his foot back into the displaced shoe. He said, "You have a splendid sense of timing, Migdre, to be caught by me."

Removing his coat, he dropped it over the creature before leaning down and lifting the creature into his arms. As he began to walk, Niyasa appeared in his line of sight, and the princess walked at speed until she noticed him, causing her footsteps to slow down.

"Prince Raylen," Niyasa greeted him with a bow, and her eyes fell on his coat, which appeared bulkier than usual. "I’ve heard that you are leaving Versailles the day after tomorrow. Won’t you consider staying a little longer? We didn’t get the time to become acquainted."

"That is indeed a pity, Princess Niyasa. I have obligations to attend to, and there are people awaiting my return. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to spend more time together the next time we see each other?" Raylen responded, offering her a kind smile.

"Perhaps," Niyasa smiled, sensing a potential connection with the prince as she felt they were very alike. "What do you have in there? As a prince, you shouldn’t be carrying anything when we have servants for that. Would you like me to take it for you?"

When Niyasa’s hand reached out for his coat, Raylen pulled it away from her, causing the young princess to regard him with a hint of suspicion. He smiled and remarked, "You are a princess; it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to let you carry anything, as it wouldn’t suit you. I hope you have a good night."

Raylen walked past her, while Niyasa now watched the Storm Prince with evident suspicion in her eyes. She wondered what he was carrying concealed beneath his coat. Once the prince arrived at his room, he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.